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Illustration of a basic model of a behavior change mechanism. The diagram illustrates the process by which behavioral interventions affect change in behavioral outcomes through change in constructs representing the psychological process from behavioral theory. The diagram illustrates the effect of the intervention content (often a behavior change method or technique) on a behavioral outcome (often a measure of behavior). This could represent the efficacy of a behavioral intervention tested in a research study such as a randomized controlled trial (path 'a' in the Figure). The effect of the intervention content (behavior change technique) on the construct representing the psychological process purportedly targeted by the technique according to theory (known as the 'mediator') is also illustrated (path 'b' in the Figure). Finally, the effect of the theory-based construct on the behavioral outcome is depicted (path 'c' in the Figure). The whole 'process' can be termed a 'mechanism of action'. From an analytic perspective, the indirect effect of the intervention content on behavior change through the theoretical construct represents a test of the mechanism of action of the intervention. A process evaluation of a behavior change intervention necessitates specification of such a process model a priori and the inclusion of relevant design features, measures, and data necessary to conduct the necessary mediation analysis to test the mechanism of action. |
